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Alpine: 9 Inches Is Not Enough

OEM integration, rear-seat video systems, Apple CarPlay, and HDMI mirroring are top-of-mind at Alpine, which is also unveiling an in-dash A/V-navigation system with the industry’s first 10-inch display.

Also new: a mech-less rear-seat entertainment system with the company’s largest screen to date at 11.4 inches. It flips down from the headliner and displays video from an HDMI-connected in-dash A/V head unit.

On top of that, the company is:

• expanding its selection of Apple CarPlay head units to two with the launch of a new model that is priced higher than the current $800 model with 7-inch touchscreen.

• expanding the selection of heads with HDMI mirroring of Android and iPhone screens to a total of 13 SKUs from last year’s eight with the launch of five new models. The heads mirror the smartphones’ displays when the parking brake is engaged. The phones’ apps cannot be controlled from the head units.

Nav system: The new A/V-nav system, available in two variants, is part of Alpine’s Restyle series of car-navigation systems, which are bundled with dash kits for specific SUVs and full-size trucks to retain a factory look. The systems also come with iDatalink Maestro OEM-integration module, which plugs into a vehicle’s databus to retain factory features when the factory radio is removed.

In the Restyle series, Alpine has offered 9-inch models since 2014 and 8-inch models since 2012.

The new Restyle variants are the X110-SLV for 2014-and-later Chevy Silverado pickups and the X110-SRA for 2014-and-later GMC Sierra pickups. Both vehicles are also compatible with the company’s 9- and 8-inch Restyle heads.

The new heads are the company’s first Restyle heads that connect to a separately sold KAC-001 accessory-control module, enabling the touchscreen to control add-on truck accessories such as motorized tonneau covers, winches, air suspension, LED lights, headlights, and the like. Eight individual outputs are available to control eight relay-connected accessories.

The two heads are the Alpine’s first with multi-camera control. With the separately sold KCX-C250MC multi-camera selector, the head controls multiple camera systems from one page of the X110’s touch screen.

Both new versions of the 10-inch head will be available in January at $4,000..

RSE4AP rear-seat entertainment system: The $1,400-suggested system, due this month, features 11.4-inch screen that flips down from the headliner. It’s the company’s first flip-down rear-seat system that lacks integrated DVD player, so it displays video via a direct digital connection to Alpine’s HDMI-output navigation systems and the 10-inch Restyle systems. It’s also the company’s first rear-seat system with Plasmacluster technology, which uses charged-particle attraction to remove contaminants and odors.